Almond Glycemic Index (GI) - Is It High or Low?
The carbohydrate content of almonds is quite high; however, most of it is made up of dietary fiber. Because of this, the glycemic index of almonds is very low.
According to The International Journal of Medical Research, almonds have a glycemic index close to 0 (1).
Research has shown that almonds, as well as some other nuts, are likely to lower the risk of type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease by decreasing the glycemic excursion after a meal and by providing antioxidants (2).
The incorporation of almonds into a healthy diet has beneficial effects on obesity, glycemic control, and lipid profile due to lowered levels of fasting glucose, fasting insulin, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein (3).
One trial demonstrated that including almonds in breakfast meals decreased blood glucose concentrations and increased satiety in diabetic and prediabetic individuals (4).
Overall, almonds have a glycemic index close to zero, and various studies have concluded that increased almond intake may improve glycemic control and decrease the risk of type 2 diabetes (5).
Almonds can be safely recommended to diabetic patients.
References
- https://www.ijmrhs.com/medical-research/dry-fruits-and-diabetes-mellitus.pdf
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002916522004944
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20580779/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3042001/
- https://nutritionandmetabolism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12986-017-0205-3
